Van Truong v. Immigration Naturalization & Services

ORDER

This court’s Memorandum disposition filed October 16, 2002 is hereby WITHDRAWN and replaced with the attached disposition.

With the filing of this new disposition, the petition for rehearing, filed December 13, 2002, is DENIED.

MEMORANDUM **

Trung Van Truong and his family petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision reversing the immigration judge’s (“IJ”) order granting their applications for asylum. Truong and his wife escaped Vietnam in 1979, and lived in Italy with their children from 1980 to 1991. The BIA determined that the Truongs were barred from asylum because they had firmly resettled in Italy prior to entering the United States. We agree with the BIA’s determination that the Truongs were firmly resettled in Italy, but because the BIA did not consider credible evidence supporting the Truongs’ claim for asylum based on persecution in Italy, we grant the petition for review and remand for further proceedings.

*317 Truong and his wife Nga Thi Lu (“Mrs. Truong”) are natives and citizens of Vietnam. Their children, Martina Truong and Paolo Truong, were born in Italy, but are not Italian citizens. Truong and his family lived in Italy…